For those of you new to Chinese culture, one thing a Chinese child most looks forward to all year is the time during Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) when they get to go ask their neighbors and other adults for red envelopes containing some money – it’s a bit like trick-or-treating for cash. This essay […]
我非常喜欢过新年，因为过年不但能穿新衣服，玩得快活，而且还能收到很多的压岁钱。今年我一下子就收到了700余元压岁钱，我拿着压岁钱，心里特别高兴，但是也很扫兴，怕妈妈给收走了。
以往的压岁钱都要上缴的，我就给妈妈商量：今年我刚满十岁，我已经长大了，希望这些压岁钱由我来保管，没想到妈妈很爽快的答应了，我心里乐的开了花。我拿到这些压岁钱，我应该怎样来花这些钱呢？买我喜欢的玩具、还有我最喜欢吃的肯德基？我苦思冥想了好几天，我打算用这些钱来买我喜欢的书籍、买一些学习用品或者订报纸、献爱心捐款……除了这些,我是决不乱花的。
我觉得这样做，不但可以从小学会勤俭节约、不乱花钱的习惯，而且还可以使我学会管理、学会生活，这样才会使我逐渐成长起来。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 喜欢 | xǐ huan | to like; to be fond of |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 新年 | xīn nián | New Year; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 过年 | guò nián | to celebrate the Chinese New Year |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 穿 | chuān | to bore through; to pierce; to perforate; to go through (e.g. a tunnel); to cross (e.g. a street); to thread; to string together; to wear; to put on (clothes, shoes etc.); verb com… |
| 新 | Xīn | abbr. for Xinjiang 新疆[Xin1 jiang1]; abbr. for Singapore 新加坡[Xin1 jia1 po1]; surname Xin |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 玩 | wán | to play; to have fun; to trifle with; toy; sth used for amusement; curio or antique (Taiwan pr. [wan4]); to keep sth for entertainment; variant of 玩[wan2]; Taiwan pr. [wan4] |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 而 | ér | and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast) |
| 且 | qiě | and; moreover; yet; for the time being; to be about to; both (... and...) |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 收到 | shōu dào | to receive |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 压岁钱 | yā suì qián | money given to children as a gift on Chinese New Year's Eve |
| 今年 | jīn nián | this year |
| 一下子 | yī xià zi | once; one time; (following a verb) for a moment; briefly; for a little while; in no time; almost immediately; all at once; all of a sudden |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 余 | Yú | surname Yu; extra; surplus; remaining; remainder after division; (following numerical value) or more; in excess of (some number); residue (math.); after; I; me |
| 元 | Yuán | surname Yuan; Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) |
| 拿 | ná | old variant of 拿[na2]; variant of 拿[na2]; to hold; to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take; (used in the same way as 把[ba3]: to mark the following noun as a direct object) |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 心里 | xīn li | chest; heart; mind |
| 特别 | tè bié | unusual; special; very; especially; particularly; expressly; for a specific purpose; (often followed by 是[shi4]) in particular |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy; glad; willing (to do sth); in a cheerful mood |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 扫兴 | sǎo xìng | to spoil things; to dampen spirits; to feel deflated; to be dispirited |
| 怕 | Pà | surname Pa |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 收 | shōu | to receive; to accept; to collect; to put away; to restrain; to stop; in care of (used on address line after name) |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 以往 | yǐ wǎng | in the past; formerly |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 缴 | jiáo | to hand in; to hand over; to pay |
| 商 | Shāng | Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC); surname Shang |
| 量 | liáng | to measure |
| 刚 | gāng | (literary) hard; firm; strong; exactly; precisely; barely; only just; just; only a short while ago |
| 满 | Mǎn | Manchu ethnic group |
| 十 | shí | ten; 10 |
| 岁 | suì | variant of 歲|岁[sui4], year; years old; classifier for years (of age); year; year (of crop harvests) |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 长大 | zhǎng dà | to grow up |
| 希 | xī | to hope; to admire; variant of 稀[xi1] |
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 由 | yóu | to follow; from; because of; due to; by; via; through; (before a noun and a verb) it is for ... to ... |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 保 | báo | Bulgaria (abbr. for 保加利亞|保加利亚[Bao3 jia1 li4 ya4]) |
| 管 | guǎn | variant of 管[guan3]; surname Guan |
| 没想到 | méi xiǎng dào | didn't expect |
| 爽 | shuáng | bright; crisp; frank; to feel well; pleasurable; to deviate |
| 答应 | dā ying | to answer; to respond; to answer positively; to agree; to accept; to promise |
| 乐 | Lè | surname Le |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 花 | Huā | surname Hua; old variant of 花[hua1]; variant of 花[hua1]; flower; blossom; also pr. [wei3] |
| 拿到 | ná dào | to get; to obtain |
| 应 | Yīng | surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4] |
| 该 | gāi | should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned |
| 怎 | zěn | how |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 钱 | Qián | surname Qian |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy; to purchase |
| 玩具 | wán jù | plaything; toy |
| 还有 | hái yǒu | there still remain(s); there is (or are) still; in addition |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 吃的 | chī de | (coll.) food |
| 肯 | kěn | old variant of 肯[ken3]; to agree; to consent; to be willing to |
| 德 | Dé | Germany; German; abbr. for 德國|德国[De2 guo2]; variant of 德[de2] |
| 基 | jī | (bound form) base; foundation; (bound form) radical (chemistry); (bound form) gay (loanword from English into Cantonese, Jyutping: gei1, followed by orthographic borrowing from Can… |
| 苦 | kǔ | bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly |
| 思 | sī | to think; to consider |
| 冥 | míng | dark; underworld |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 好几 | hǎo jǐ | several; quite a few |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 算 | suàn | to calculate; to figure out; to include; to count in; to count; to be valid; to carry weight; to regard as; to consider (to be ...) |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 书 | Shū | abbr. for 書經|书经[Shu1 jing1] |
| 籍 | jī | book; record; registry; native place; affiliation; surname Ji |
| 一些 | yī xiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 学习 | xué xí | to learn; to study |
| 用品 | yòng pǐn | articles for use; products; goods |
| 或者 | huò zhě | or; possibly; maybe; perhaps |
| 订 | dǐng | to agree; to draw up; to order |
| 报 | bào | to report; to inform; to announce; to respond; to reply; to sign up for; to register for (abbr. for 報名|报名[bao4 ming2]); to reward; to recompense; to take revenge; to retaliate; new… |
| 纸 | zhǐ | variant of 紙|纸[zhi3]; paper (CL:張|张[zhang1],沓[da2]); classifier for documents, letters etc |
| 献 | xiǎn | to offer; to dedicate; to show; worthy person (old) |
| 爱心 | ài xīn | compassion; kindness; care for others; love; CL:片[pian4]; charity (bazaar, golf day etc); heart (the symbol ♥) |
| 捐 | juan | to relinquish; to abandon; (bound form) tax; levy |
| 款 | kuán | section; funds; classifier for versions or models (of a product) |
| 除 | chú | to get rid of; to remove; to exclude; to eliminate; to wipe out; to divide; except; not including |
| 决不 | jué bù | not at all; simply (can) not |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 从小 | cóng xiǎo | from childhood; from a young age |
| 学会 | xué huì | to learn; to master; institute; learned society; (scholarly) association |
| 勤 | qín | diligent; industrious; hardworking; frequent; regular; constant; (bound form) work; duty; attendance; (literary) diligent; industrious; hardworking (variant of 勤[qin2]); (literary) solicitous; attentive |
| 俭 | jián | (bound form) frugal; thrifty |
| 节约 | jié yuē | to economize; to conserve (resources); economy; frugal |
| 花钱 | huā qián | to spend money |
| 习 | Xí | surname Xi |
| 惯 | guàn | accustomed to; used to; indulge; to spoil (a child) |
| 使 | shǐ | to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger |
| 管理 | guǎn lǐ | to supervise; to manage; to administer; management; administration; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 逐 | zhú | (bound form) to pursue; to chase; to drive away; one by one; individually |
| 渐 | jiǎn | to imbue |
| 成长 | chéng zhǎng | to mature; to grow; growth |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
I really love New Year, because [during] New Year I can not only wear new clothes and play joyfully, but also, I get a lot of New Year’s money. This year, in a flash I got more than 700 yuan, and holding that New Years’ money, my heart was glad, but at the same time, my spirits were dampened, because I was afraid mama would take it away from me.
In the past [I had to] give over my New Year’s money to the higher authorities [author means his mother here], so I discussed it with my mother [thus]: this year I’m fully 10 years old, I’m already a grown up, and I hope this New Year’s money can be left under my care, but I never though she’d agree so readily, and happiness bloomed in my heart like a flower. I held the New Year’s money, but what should I spend this money on? Buy a toy I like, or my favorite thing to eat, Kentucky Fried Chicken? I racked my brains for several days, and decided to use the money to buy some books I liked, buy a few school supplies or to subscribe to a newspaper, and to make a charitable donation… apart from these things, I figured I’d better not spend it recklessly.
I thought that doing it this way, I not only could learn to be diligent and thrifty starting in primary school, and develop careful spending habits, but also this could let me study money management, study life [skills], and I would gradually become more mature.